PORT ADELAIDE supporters will be dreaming of seeing a new generation of Burgoyne brothers donning the revered guernsey with
Peter’s oldest son Trent Burgoyne has been picked in a 52-man state under-18 squad announced last week.
Trent is the youngest player picked, still five months short of his 17th birthday, but the 176-centimetre, 67-kilogram talent has been recognised after impressive performances in the junior ranks at Woodville-West Torrens.
Trent is one of the first players in Port Adelaide’s Father/Son Academy, and the club’s head of Aboriginal Programs, Paul Vandenbergh said he deserved his opportunity.
“He’s at Henley High doing Year 11 and doing really well with the Eagles,” he said.
“He’s had some great opportunities and experiences coming through our academy and potentially in the mix as a father/son option for the club.
“It’s really exciting to see some of our past Aboriginal players’ kids getting through the system and hopefully if they can achieve some of the stuff their fathers did, then we’d be pretty happy as a club.”
Coached by former Port Adelaide vice-captain and three-time premiership player Tony Bamford, the state under-18 squad also features a couple of other names that will be familiar to the Port Adelaide faithful.
South Adelaide’s Robert Irra was also selected, following in the footsteps of his brother Emmanuel Irra, a Category
Another familiar name is that of Woodville-West Torrens youngster Jackson Mead, son of three-time premiership Magpie and inaugural John Cahill Medallist Darren Mead, and another who is part of the club’s Father/Son Academy.
The squad would be reduced to between 30 and 35 players once an internal trial match is played on May 13, and the Croweaters will open their campaign against Western Australia at Alberton Oval on Sunday, June 3.
Meanwhile, Trent’s younger brother Jase has been chosen in a 25-man squad for the 2018 Rio Tinto Flying Boomerangs.
Selected by AFL club recruiters after the AFL National Male Diversity Championships in Blacktown, the squad was chosen based on school attendance, leadership skills and football ability.
The AFL Flying Boomerangs program is a personal development and leadership program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young men aged 14-16 years old.
Jase, too, is part of the Port Adelaide Father/Son Academy, and Vandenbergh was thrilled for the speedy Year 9 student.
“He’s obviously got some good genes there and a good background to footy and he’s shot up a bit recently so I think he’ll be taller than his father and probably his uncle Shaun as well,” Vandenbergh said.
“I’ve been involved previously in the Boomerangs squad and when I was involved I had Sam Powell-Pepper and Joel Garner who are now on our list – but also Nathan Krakouer was among the first Boomerangs squad.
“It’s a great stepping stone, a great experience, which takes kids out of their comfort zone and they get great knowledge from coaches and recruiters.
“Jase is really excited to make the squad and to mingle with some kids from interstate and hopefully one day we’ll see him as one of our first father/son draftees.”
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